China will allow two to three candidates, who will have to obtain the support of at least half of the nominating committee members—mostly appointed by pro-Beijing forces in the city—to get on the ballot; then they will be voted on by a similarly-composed 1,200-person election committee. One official in Beijing noted the criteria for being elected included being someone who “loves the country and loves Hong Kong.” In some ways, it’s amazing that China’s leaders even acknowledged the possibility of universal suffrage.

Macau was handed over from the Portuguese in 1999, two years after Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule from British. A much smaller island with only one true source of income, it has largely welcomed the mainlanders who come to gamble, drink, and, if they have time, watch some watery acrobatics. Macau and Hong Kong operate under what China’s former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping called “One Country, Two Systems,” which guaranteed a certain amount of freedom in the former colonies, unlike in the mainland, in exchange for acceptance they will be run by handpicked, Beijing-approved technocrats. China wants Hong Kong’s elections to be as smooth as those in Macau, and all signs suggest it will get its way by the time 2017 rolls around.

Yet discontent in Macau has been growing:

In the election, Chui received 16 blank and invalid votes, the most-ever votes against a chief executive in the city’s history, according to the South China Morning Post. A few people gathered outside to protest the vote itself.

And almost 9,000 people in Macau (population: 556,000) voted in an unofficial referendum that asked whether residents have confidence in Chui, the son of a Macanese construction tycoon, and whether they support universal suffrage. Police have arrested five of the organizers; one was charged with aggravated disobedience.

Rather than focusing on making Hong Kong more docile like Macau, China may need to worry about Macau becoming more volatile like Hong Kong.